With 'Criminal Minds', some seasons are better than others and every season has a mixture of outstanding, great, very good, good, average, mediocre and bad episodes. This said, lesser episodes of Seasons 1-4 (with possible exception of "Machismo") are better than the lesser episodes of Season 6 onwards.
Season 8 did see a sizable number of mediocre episodes, but also ones that were very good and showing signs of greatness. The latter is true for "All That Remains", which is not just one of Season 8's best episodes but perhaps a close second best to "The Lesson" as the best of the season. The great parts of the episode were so great in fact that with a couple of tweaks "All That Remains" could have been a potential classic.
An immediate standout was how many improvements "All That Remains" made in comparison to some of what was seen before in Season 8, and that a lot of problems that arose in too many latter season episodes were corrected. Like the previous reviewer, whose to me assessment of the episode is spot on, loved that it was much less gratuitously gory and far less reliant on the shock value. Instead it is much more twisty and psychological, which is closer to what 'Criminal Minds' was all about and what made it so great in its prime-era.
Thomas Gibson directed six episodes of 'Criminal Minds' and, in terms of overall episode quality with varied success ("Gabby" being the best and "Derek" being the worst but not due to Gibson's directing). "All That Remains" was his directorial debut for the show, but you wouldn't think so because this is one of the best-directed 'Criminal Minds' episodes for as long as can be remembered by me. In terms of overall quality too, "All That Remains" stands out as one of the best episodes with Gibson's involvement as director, second only to "Gabby".
'Criminal Minds' can be relied on to be very well made, and "All That Remains" doesn't disappoint at all, with its stylish filming and the atmospheric way it's lit. The music is moody and haunting, while the script is one of Season 8's most balanced, best written and thought-provoking.
Storytelling sees, as aforementioned, far fewer mistakes than a lot of previous episodes and is closer in tone and spirit to prime-era 'Criminal Minds'. The twists and turns keep coming, and while the whole double personality stuff isn't a new concept (having been done in "Conflicted", "The Big Game" and "Revelations") it was handled very well and it was suitably difficult to tell whether he was innocent or not. This is not the first time that 'Criminal Minds' has covered JJ's personal problem here (don't want to spoil it), but it was handled very movingly and saw some of the most moving and the best-written scenes between her and Blake.
Loved also that Garcia was much more mature and professional here, and that Morgan's intense and angsty demeanour has been toned down. As much as Reid is one of my favourite characters, and a lot of the show's best and most memorable episodes have revolved around him, he wisely takes a backseat in "All That Remains" but is by all means not neglected. Tension, suspense and emotional impact is aplenty. The acting is very good from all involved, no complaints to be had from the regular lead performances and Ken Olin and Sophi Bairley being particularly great in support.
It is a shame that once the completely unexpected twist is revealed that "All That Remains" isn't quite as good. From that point, it just feels too rushed with explanations feeling unresolved and leaving too many unanswered questions. If those were addressed in the episode, they were rushed through and rather vague. Was also expecting Reid to be much more upset and traumatised than he showed, considering that it's so soon after what happened in "Zugzwang", for me an episode that wasn't too bad an episode until the slap-in-the-face ending.
On the whole, one of the season's best episodes that is only really let down by the stuff after the twist not being as good as the rest of the episode, which showed the potential of being a classic. A very episode just falling short of greatness. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Season 8 did see a sizable number of mediocre episodes, but also ones that were very good and showing signs of greatness. The latter is true for "All That Remains", which is not just one of Season 8's best episodes but perhaps a close second best to "The Lesson" as the best of the season. The great parts of the episode were so great in fact that with a couple of tweaks "All That Remains" could have been a potential classic.
An immediate standout was how many improvements "All That Remains" made in comparison to some of what was seen before in Season 8, and that a lot of problems that arose in too many latter season episodes were corrected. Like the previous reviewer, whose to me assessment of the episode is spot on, loved that it was much less gratuitously gory and far less reliant on the shock value. Instead it is much more twisty and psychological, which is closer to what 'Criminal Minds' was all about and what made it so great in its prime-era.
Thomas Gibson directed six episodes of 'Criminal Minds' and, in terms of overall episode quality with varied success ("Gabby" being the best and "Derek" being the worst but not due to Gibson's directing). "All That Remains" was his directorial debut for the show, but you wouldn't think so because this is one of the best-directed 'Criminal Minds' episodes for as long as can be remembered by me. In terms of overall quality too, "All That Remains" stands out as one of the best episodes with Gibson's involvement as director, second only to "Gabby".
'Criminal Minds' can be relied on to be very well made, and "All That Remains" doesn't disappoint at all, with its stylish filming and the atmospheric way it's lit. The music is moody and haunting, while the script is one of Season 8's most balanced, best written and thought-provoking.
Storytelling sees, as aforementioned, far fewer mistakes than a lot of previous episodes and is closer in tone and spirit to prime-era 'Criminal Minds'. The twists and turns keep coming, and while the whole double personality stuff isn't a new concept (having been done in "Conflicted", "The Big Game" and "Revelations") it was handled very well and it was suitably difficult to tell whether he was innocent or not. This is not the first time that 'Criminal Minds' has covered JJ's personal problem here (don't want to spoil it), but it was handled very movingly and saw some of the most moving and the best-written scenes between her and Blake.
Loved also that Garcia was much more mature and professional here, and that Morgan's intense and angsty demeanour has been toned down. As much as Reid is one of my favourite characters, and a lot of the show's best and most memorable episodes have revolved around him, he wisely takes a backseat in "All That Remains" but is by all means not neglected. Tension, suspense and emotional impact is aplenty. The acting is very good from all involved, no complaints to be had from the regular lead performances and Ken Olin and Sophi Bairley being particularly great in support.
It is a shame that once the completely unexpected twist is revealed that "All That Remains" isn't quite as good. From that point, it just feels too rushed with explanations feeling unresolved and leaving too many unanswered questions. If those were addressed in the episode, they were rushed through and rather vague. Was also expecting Reid to be much more upset and traumatised than he showed, considering that it's so soon after what happened in "Zugzwang", for me an episode that wasn't too bad an episode until the slap-in-the-face ending.
On the whole, one of the season's best episodes that is only really let down by the stuff after the twist not being as good as the rest of the episode, which showed the potential of being a classic. A very episode just falling short of greatness. 8/10 Bethany Cox
